Computer data protection lock

ABSTRACT

An information handling system includes a lock, a switch, and a south bridge. The lock is configured to receive a key and to alternate between a locked position and an unlocked position. The switch is in communication with the lock. The switch is configured to receive a signal from the lock, to close if the lock is in the locked position, and to open if the lock is in the unlocked position. The south bridge is in communication with the switch. The south bridge is configured to disable a plurality of communication ports of the information handling system when the switch is closed, and configured to enable the communication ports when the switch is opened.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/731,882, entitled “Computer Data Protection Lock,” filed on Mar. 25,2010, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, andmore particularly relates to a computer data protection lock.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system generally processes, compiles, stores,and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

A computer can have different basic input/output system (BIOS) settingsto control how the computer operates. For example, one BIOS setting canenable or disable the communication ports of the computer. Thecommunication ports can include a serial advance technology attachment(SATA) communication port, a universal serial bus (USB) communicationport, a Bluetooth communication port, an RJ11 communication port, or thelike. If the user wants to ensure that the communication ports areenabled or disabled, the user may set a password to protect the abilityto change the setting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn toscale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements areexaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respectto the drawings presented herein, in which:

FIG. 1 is block diagram of an information handling system including amechanical lock;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of the mechanical lock;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a control line circuit within theinformation handling system;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for enabling or disabling thecommunication ports of the information handling system;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an alternative method for enabling ordisabling the communication ports; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a general computer system.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicatessimilar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The following description in combination with the Figures is provided toassist in understanding the teachings disclosed herein. The followingdiscussion will focus on specific implementations and embodiments of theteachings. This focus is provided to assist in describing the teachingsand should not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope orapplicability of the teachings. However, other teachings can certainlybe utilized in this application.

FIG. 1 shows an information handling system such as a portable computer100. For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system mayinclude any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operableto compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, orutilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business,scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an informationhandling system may be a personal computer, a network storage device, orany other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance,functionality, and price. The information handling system may includerandom access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as acentral processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic,ready only memory (ROM), and/or other types of nonvolatile memory.Additional components of the information handling system may include oneor more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating withexternal devices as well as various input and output (I/O) devices, suchas a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display. The information handlingsystem may also include one or more buses operable to transmitcommunications between the various hardware components.

The computer 100 includes a south bridge 102, a locking mechanism 104,and communication ports 106. The locking mechanism 104 includes amechanical lock 108. The mechanical lock 108 of locking mechanism 104 isin communication with the south bridge 102 via a control line, labeledgeneral purpose input/output (GPIO). The south bridge 102 is also incommunication with each of the communication ports 106. The mechanicallock 108 can be placed in physical communication with a key 110 that canbe inserted into the locking mechanism 104.

The communication ports 106 can be serial advanced technology attachment(SATA) communication ports, universal serial bus (USB) communicationports, Bluetooth communication ports, Infrared (IR) communication ports,RJ11 communication ports, RJ45 communication ports, or any combinationthereof. Thus, the communication ports 106 can provide the south bridge102 with communication to other devices, such as a SATA device 112, USBdevices 114, other computers, or the like. The south bridge 102 cancommunicate with the SATA device 112 and with the USB devices 114 whenthe SATA device and the USB devices are inserted into the communicationports 106. The key 110 can also connect to a Kensington key 118 that canbe used to secure the computer 100 in a specific location as discussedbelow.

A user can utilize the key 110 to disable or enable the communicationports 106 of the computer 100. The user can insert the key 110 into thelocking mechanism 104, and can lock the key into place. When the key 110is locked into place, the user can rotate the key to move the mechanicallock 108 between a locked position 202 and an unlocked position 302 asshown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show schematic diagrams of the mechanical lock 108respectively in the locked position 202 and the unlocked position 302.The mechanical lock 108 includes a contact 204 and contact pads 206. Asstated above, the key 110 can be utilized to rotate the mechanical lock108 between the locked position 202 and the unlocked position 302. Whenthe mechanical lock 108 is in the locked position 202, the contact 204is preferably in physical communication with the contact pads 206.Alternatively, when the mechanical lock 108 is in the unlocked position302, the contact 204 is preferably not in physical communication withthe contact pads 206. The locked position 202 preferably causes thesouth bridge 102 to disable some or all of the communication ports 106as discussed below. The physical communication between the contact 204and the contact pads preferably transmits a signal to an electricalswitch 402 as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a control line circuit 400 includingthe electrical switch 402 and a resistor 404. The electrical switch 402has a first terminal connected to a first voltage reference, labeledGND, and a second terminal connected to the control line GPIO of thesouth bridge 102. The resistor 404 has a first terminal connected to thecontrol line GPIO of the south bridge 102, and a second terminalconnected to a second voltage reference, labeled V_(DD). When themechanical lock 108 is in the unlocked position 302, the electricalswitch 402 is open and the control line GPIO is pulled high to thesecond voltage reference V_(DD) via the resistor 404. Thus, the controlline GPIO and the resistor 404 are preferably not connected to the firstvoltage reference GND such that there is not a voltage drop across theresistor to cause the control line GPIO to have a voltage level belowthe second voltage reference V_(DD).

However, when the mechanical lock 108 is in the locked position 302, thephysical communication between the contact 204 and the contact pads 206transmits a signal to the electrical switch 402. When the electricalswitch 402 receives the signal, the electrical switch preferably closesand the control line GPIO is pulled low to the first voltage referenceGND. When the resistor 404 is connected to the first voltage reference,the resistor has a voltage drop across it that is substantially equal tothe second voltage reference V_(DD). Thus, the voltage level of thecontrol line GPIO is preferably low and substantially equal to the firstvoltage reference GND.

Referring again to FIG. 1, when the computer 100 is rebooted, turned on,or the like, the voltage level and/or state of the control linecontinues to be set high or low depending on the position of themechanical lock 104. During the start-up of the computer 100, the southbridge 102 executes a basic input/output system (BIOS) power-onself-test (POST). During the BIOS POST, the south bridge 102 preferablydetects the voltage level of the control line GPIO. The user can presetthe BIOS within the south bridge 102 to disable individual ones or allof the communications ports 106 in response to voltage level of thecontrol line GPIO.

For example, the user can set that the south bridge 102 disables thecommunication ports 106 associated with the SATA device 112 and the USBdevice 114 when the voltage level of the control line GPIO is low. Theuser can also set that the other communication ports 106, such as theBluetooth, IR, RJ45, and RJ11 communication ports, can always be enabledby the south bridge 102. Thus, the user can prevent the computer 100from communicating with the SATA device 112 and/or the USB device 114.However, the user setting can still allow someone to communicate withanother device via the Bluetooth communication port, the IRcommunication port, the RJ45 communication port, and/or RJ11communication port. Thus, the user can determine what type ofcommunication, if any, the computer 100 can utilize based on thesettings in the BIOS and the position of the mechanical lock 108.

When the BIOS POST executes, the control line voltage level is detectedand a flag can be set in the BIOS if the voltage level is high. The BIOSPOST can then continue to execute and determine whether to initiate eachof the communication ports 106. During the BIOS POST, a determinationcan made individually for each communication port 106 whether toinitiate that communication port. For example, during a determination ofwhether to initiate the SATA communication port 106, the execution ofthe BIOS POST can detect whether the user has set that the SATAcommunication port is to be disabled if the control line GPIO is low. Ifthe user has set that the SATA communication port 106 is to be disabledbased on the voltage state of the control line, during the BIOS POSTexecution the communication port is preferably not initiated when adetermination is made that the control line is at the low voltage state.The same process is preferably followed for each of the communicationports 106 during the BIOS POST. Disabling the communication ports 106can protect the data on the computer 100 from being copied and/ortransferred to another device.

The Kensington key 118 can be any device that can be used to secure thecomputer 100 to a table, wall, floor, or the like. For example, theKensington key 118 can include a cable that is connected to a table sothat the computer 100 cannot be removed from the table. The key 110connected to the locking mechanism 104 can include an opening oppositethe computer 100, such that the Kensington key 118 can be inserted intothe key. When the Kensington key 118 is inserted within the key 110, theKensington key can be securely connected to the key.

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of a method 500 for enabling or disablingthe communication ports of the computer. At block 502, a BIOS within asouth bridge is set to enable a plurality of communication ports in thecomputer if a control line of the south bridge is at a high voltagereference. The plurality of communication ports can be all of thecommunication ports in the computer, a portion of the communicationports, or the like. The BIOS is set to disable the plurality ofcommunication ports if the control line of the south bridge is at a lowvoltage reference at block 504. The determination of the voltagereference of the control line is preferably determined during a BIOSPOST. At block 506, a position of a mechanical lock within the computeris detected as being either in a locked position or an unlockedposition.

A determination is made whether the lock is the locked position as block508. If the lock is in the locked position, a switch is closed at block510 and the control line is pulled to the low voltage reference at block512. If the lock is in the unlocked position, the switch is opened atblock 514 and the control line is pulled to the high voltage referenceat block 516. The switch can be an electrical switch that can receive asignal from the lock based on the position of the lock.

At block 518, the computer is detected as being turned on. A BIOS POSTis executed at block 520. At block 522, a voltage state of the controlline at the south bridge is detected. A flag is set in the BIOS if thecontrol line is at the high voltage reference at block 524. At block526, a determination is made whether the control line is at the highvoltage reference. If the control line is at the high voltage reference,the plurality of communication ports are enabled at block 528. If thecontrol line is not at the high voltage reference, the plurality ofcommunication ports are disabled at block 530.

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of an alternative method for enabling ordisabling the communication ports of the computer. At block 602, amechanical lock within a computer is detected as being in a lockedposition. A switch is closed when the mechanical lock is in the lockedposition at block 604. The switch can be an electrical switch configuredto open or close based on a signal received from the mechanical lock. Atblock 606, a control line is pulled to a low voltage reference when theswitch is closed. The computer is turned on at block 608.

At block 610, a BIOS POST is executed in response to the computer beingturned on. A voltage state of the control line is detected during theBIOS POST at block 612. At block 614, the south bridge of the computerdetects that the control line is at the low voltage reference. Aplurality of communication ports are disabled when the control line isat the low voltage reference at block 616.

At block 618, the mechanical lock within the computer is detected asbeing in an unlocked position. The switch is closed when the mechanicallock is in the unlocked position at block 620. At block 622, the controlline is pulled to a high voltage reference when the switch is opened.The computer is turned on at block 624.

At block 626, the BIOS POST is executed in response to the computerbeing turned on. The voltage state of the control line is detectedduring the BIOS POST at block 628. At block 630, the south bridge of thecomputer detects that the control line is at the high voltage reference.The plurality of communication ports are enabled when the control lineis at the high voltage reference at block 632.

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative embodiment of a general computer system 700in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.The computer system 700 can include a set of instructions that can beexecuted to cause the computer system to perform any one or more of themethods or computer based functions disclosed herein. The computersystem 700 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected suchas using a network, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 700 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner,a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particularembodiment, the computer system 700 can be implemented using electronicdevices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, whilea single computer system 700 is illustrated, the term “system” shallalso be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

The computer system 700 may include a processor 702 such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both.Moreover, the computer system 700 can include a main memory 704 and astatic memory 706 that can communicate with each other via a bus 708. Asshown, the computer system 700 may further include a video display unit710, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emittingdiode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, or a cathoderay tube (CRT). Additionally, the computer system 700 may include aninput device 712, such as a keyboard, and a cursor control device 714,such as a mouse. The computer system 700 can also include a disk driveunit 716, a signal generation device 718, such as a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 720.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 7, the disk drive unit716 may include a computer-readable medium 722 in which one or more setsof instructions 724 such as software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 724 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 724 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 704,the static memory 706, and/or within the processor 702 during executionby the computer system 700. The main memory 704 and the processor 702also may include computer-readable media. The network interface device720 can provide connectivity to a network 726, e.g., a wide area network(WAN), a local area network (LAN), or other network.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations such asapplication specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can be constructed to implement one or more ofthe methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 724 or receives and executes instructions 724responsive to a propagated signal, so that a device connected to anetwork 726 can communicate voice, video or data over the network 726.Further, the instructions 724 may be transmitted or received over thenetwork 726 via the network interface device 720.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of acomputer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalentsand successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.

Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detailabove, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that manymodifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments withoutmaterially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of theembodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of theembodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the followingclaims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to coverthe structures described herein as performing the recited function andnot only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information handling system comprising: amechanical lock configured to receive a first key and to rotate betweena locked position and an unlocked position, wherein the first key islockable into place within the mechanical lock; a second key attached toa particular location by a cable, the second key inserted within anopening of the first key to securely connect to the first key to securethe information handling system in the particular location; a switch incommunication with the mechanical lock and a control line, if themechanical lock is in the locked position, the switch to close and pullthe control line to a low voltage reference; and if the mechanical lockis in the unlocked position, the switch to open and to pull the controlline to a high voltage reference; and a south bridge in communicationwith the switch and the control line, the south bridge to disable aplurality of communication ports of the information handling system inresponse to a voltage level of the control line being at the low voltagereference, and to enable the communication ports in response to thevoltage level of the control line being at the high voltage reference.2. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the south bridgeincludes a basic input/output system configured to be executed when theinformation handling system is turned on.
 3. The information handlingsystem of claim 2 wherein the basic input/output system is configured toset a flag when the switch is closed.
 4. The information handling systemof claim 1 wherein the mechanical lock includes a contact and contactpads, wherein the contact is in physical communication with the contactpads when the mechanical lock is in the locked position.
 5. Theinformation handling system of claim 4 wherein if the mechanical lock isin the locked position: the switch receives a signal in response to thephysical communication between the contact and the contact pads.
 6. Theinformation handling system of claim 1 wherein the communication portsinclude universal serial bus communication ports, serial advancedtechnology attachment communication ports, Bluetooth communicationports, RJ45 communication ports, RJ11communication ports, or anycombination thereof.
 7. A method comprising: detecting a position of amechanical lock within an information handling system, wherein themechanical lock is rotated between a lockable position and an unlockedposition by a first key, wherein the first key is locked into placewithin the mechanical lock; if the position of the mechanical lock is alocked position, then: closing a switch; and pulling a control line to alow voltage reference when the switch is closed; if the position of themechanical lock is an unlocked position, then: opening the switch; andpulling the control line to a high voltage reference when the switch isopened; detecting that the information handling system is turned on;detecting at a south bridge of the information handling system a voltagestate of the control line connected to the south bridge; if the controlline is at the low voltage reference, disabling a plurality ofcommunication ports of the information handling system; and if thecontrol line is at the high voltage reference, enabling thecommunication ports; securing the information handling system in aparticular location via a second key attached to the particular locationby a cable, the second key being securely connected to the first key bythe second key being inserted into an opening of the first key.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 further comprising: setting a basic input/outputsystem to enable the communication ports if the control line is at thehigh voltage; and setting a basic input/output system to disable thecommunication ports if the control line is at the low voltage.
 9. Themethod of claim 7 further comprising: executing a basic input/outputsystem power-on self-test when the information handling system is turnedon; and setting a flag in the basic input/output system if the controlline is at the high voltage.
 10. The method of claim 7 furthercomprising: placing includes a contact of the mechanical lock inphysical communication with contact pads of the mechanical lock when themechanical lock is in the locked position.
 11. The method of claim 10further comprising: if the mechanical lock is in the locked position:providing a signal to the switch in response to the physicalcommunication between the contact and the contact pads.
 12. The methodof claim 7 wherein the switch is an electrical switch.
 13. The method ofclaim 7 wherein the communication ports include universal serial buscommunication ports, serial advanced technology attachment communicationports, Bluetooth communication ports, RJ45 communication ports, RJ11communication ports, or any combination thereof.
 14. An informationhandling system comprising: a mechanical lock configured to receive afirst key and to rotate between a locked position and an unlockedposition; a second key attached to a particular location by a cable, thesecond key inserted within an opening of the first key to securelyconnect to the first key to secure the information handling system inthe particular location; a switch in communication with the mechanicallock and a control line, if the mechanical lock is in the lockedposition, the switch to close and pull the control line to a low voltagereference; and if the mechanical lock is in the unlocked position, theswitch to open and to pull the control line to a high voltage reference;and a south bridge in communication with the switch and the controlline, the south bridge to disable a plurality of communication ports ofthe information handling system in response to a voltage level of thecontrol line being at the low voltage reference, and to enable thecommunication ports in response to the voltage level of the control linebeing at the high voltage reference.
 15. The information handling systemof claim 14 wherein the south bridge includes a basic input/outputsystem configured to be executed when the information handling system isturned on.
 16. The information handling system of claim 15 wherein thebasic input/output system is configured to set a flag when the switch isclosed.
 17. The information handling system of claim 14 wherein themechanical lock includes a contact and contact pads, wherein the contactis in physical communication with the contact pads when the mechanicallock is in the locked position.
 18. The information handling system ofclaim 17 wherein if the mechanical lock is in the locked position: theswitch receives a signal in response to the physical communicationbetween the contact and the contact pads.
 19. The information handlingsystem of claim 14 wherein the communication ports include universalserial bus communication ports, serial advanced technology attachmentcommunication ports, Bluetooth communication ports, RJ45 communicationports, RJ11communication ports, or any combination thereof.